PUTNEY, Vt. – Next Stage Arts presents an extraordinary evening of global music on Friday, April 24, at 7:30 p.m., featuring internationally acclaimed kora master Ablaye Cissoko and celebrated French diatonic accordionist Cyrille Brotto. Doors open at 6:45 p.m., at Next Stage Arts, 15 Kimball Hill in Putney.
In their luminous new project, “Djiyo” – meaning “water” – Cissoko and Brotto create a seamless musical current that flows across cultures, blending West African Manding traditions with the folk music of southern France. The result is a sound that is meditative, lyrical, and deeply human.
Following nearly three years of touring and more than 100 concerts worldwide, the duo reunites with a renewed artistic connection. Their performance unfolds as an intimate and expressive dialogue between kora, voice, and accordion – at times contemplative, at times quietly ecstatic – imbued with warmth, melancholy, and profound musicality. Hailed as “a gem from start to finish” by Songlines UK, “Djiyo” invites listeners into a spiritual journey that both soothes and awakens.
Cissoko is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost kora players, known for his fluid virtuosity, soulful voice, and boundary-crossing collaborations spanning world music, jazz, and classical traditions. Brotto, a leading figure in the European folk scene, brings remarkable sensitivity and inventiveness to the diatonic accordion, crafting richly textured music rooted in tradition yet alive with innovation.
More than a collaboration, this performance is a meeting of kindred spirits – a musical conversation shaped by friendship, mutual respect, and a shared devotion to the transformative power of sound.
Advance tickets are available discounted at www.nextstagearts.org. For more information, call 802-387-0102.